Railroad and vehicle for railroad transportation



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1. E. G. TOBEY. RAILROAD AND VEHICLE FORRAILROAD TRANSPORTATION.

Patented June 16,1891.

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(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2,

E. G. TOBEY. RAILROAD AND VEHICLE FOR RAILROAD TRANSPORTATION. No.454,306. Patented June 16,1891.

llnrrnn STATES PATENT ()rrrcn.

ENOGH G. TOBEY, OF TARRYTOIVN, NEIV YORK.

RAILROAD AND VEHICLE FOR RAILROAD TRANSPORTATION.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 454,306, dated June 16,1891.

Application filed February 20, 1891. Serial No. 382,155. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ENOCH G. TOBEY, residing at Tarrytown, in the countyof WVestchester and State of New York, have invented a new and usefulImprovement in Railroads and Vehicles for Railroad Transportation, whichinvention is fully set forth in the following specification.

This invention relates to certain improvements in the construction ofrailway-tracks and to the form and structure of the cars, 10-comotive-trucks, and vehicles adapted for use on a railroad of any kind,whether surface, underground, elevated, or on an incline plane.

This invention is specially adapted to the use of slide-tracks, uponwhich sliders may rest and travel. It also permits of the usage offlanged wheels, the shape of the rails being such as to furnish abearing both for the slider and for the wheels.

One of the objects of this invention is to enable slide-tracks to beused and sliders to be adapted to railroad-cars and locomotivetrucks asnow constructed.

I am aware that the use of slide-tracks for railroads and sliders uponrailroad-cars is not broadly new 5 but there are numerous obj ections tothe use of sliders and slide-tracks as now constructed, on account ofwhich a high degree of speed cannot be attained with safety, and it isone of the objects of my invention to obviate these objections.

In my improved railroad-track the rail consists of a broad flat base,upon the outer edge of which there is a web or column. Upon the top ofthis web or column is a flange turned inward. The portion of the basewhich is inside the web constitutes the slideway upon which the sliderrests and travels. The slider is kept in position by means of theflange. The slider attached to the cars has at its base a flange turnedoutward and adapted to fit into the groove formed by the base of theslideway and the flange above the same. The latter flange is alsoadapted to support an ordinary flanged wheel.

For use in switches a special form of rail and of switch is desirable.The base of the rail, forming the movable part of the switch, isprovided with slideways and flanges on each side of the upright web. Itis pivoted near one end, so that it can be readily turned in the properdirection, and the movable portions of the rail are adapted to run incurved slots or ways in the switclnplate, as will be readily seen byreference to the drawings. A somewhat similar arrangement is necessarywhere two tracks cross one another at an acute angle. The slider isattached to an upright post having an opening, through which runs thebrake-lever having a brakeshoe attached to one end. The brakeshoe ispressed down on the flanged top of the rail by drawing a chain attachedto the other end of the lever, which chain is connected by wellknownmeans to the hand-brake on the carplatform, or to the steam, air, orelectric brake appliances now i u use. The method of connection may bevaried, and it forms no part of my invention. The brake-shoe isordinarilykept away from the flanged top of the rail by a springpressing upon the lever near the other end. The slider is carriedbyasupporting-bar passing through a hole in the upper portion of theslider-post. The bar is fitted at its ends into blocks inclosed byguards or boxes on the truck-frame, and the blocks have a certain amountof play upward and downward in the boxes or guards. Strong springs areinterposed between the blocks and the bottom of the car. The otherarrangements of the relations of the truck and the guard are thoseordinarily used in railroad-cars at the present time.

The accompanying drawings will serve to illustrate my invention.

Similar letters of reference in the different drawings indicate similarparts.

Figure I is a front view of a car-truck provided with the appliancesconstituting the present invention. Fig. II is a side view thereof. Fig.III is a detail of the slider and its support. Fig. IV is a plan view ofthe switch. Fig. V is a detail of the same; Fig.

VI a detail showing a car-wheel resting on the rail.

The form of the rail is shown in section in Fig.1. It has a broad flattread'or base at, whose upper smooth surface constitutes a slideway, anupright web I), springing from near the outer edge of the base, and aninwardly-projecting flange 0, whose top surface is adapted to support anordinary flanged car-wheel, as shown in Fig. VI, and is madecomparatively rough.

across the truck, and is fitted at its ends in blocks E, inclosed by theguards or boxes F, bolted to the car-body. Blocks E have a certain playvertically in their boxes, and between them and the car-body areinterposed powerful springs. These may be of various kinds and appliedin various ways. A convenient arrangement is shown in Fig. 11, in which7 a bar F is supported at the ends upon the two cross-bars of the truck,the springs G being placed between this bar I? and the car-body. Thebody of the slider has another opening or slot g, through which passesthe brake-1e- Ver G, carrying on its outer end the brakeshoe H, whichhangs directly above and close to the flange c of the rail. The otherend of this lever is connected with a brake-chain h, which runs to anyordinary hand or power device for operating the brakes. hen chain histightened, the shoe H is forced directly down upon the rail, and, as thepost B constitutes or carries the fulcrum of the brakelever, thetendency is to grip or clamp the flange c of the rail between thebrake-shoe and the slider C. SpringIlifts the brake-shoe off the flangewhen the chain is relaxed.

Then two tracks diverge, a switch-rail such as shown in Figs. IV and Visprovided.

' The rail hastwo flanges'c c,projecting in opposite directions. so asto guide the slider and wheels to either track. It is pivoted by meansof a pin 70, passing through a hole in switch-plate K. The latter hasgrooves curved on arcs struck from the center of the pivot-pin k, and inthese grooves fit the slides Z, attached to the base of the switch-rail.

The switches may be operated to guide the slides and car-wheels from onetrack to the other by means of ordinary switch-operating appliances,such as cranks and switch-levers, as indicated in Fig. IV, which beingwell known require no description.

The rail, which includes the slideway,

should be constructed of steel, bronze, alumin ium, or any materialhaving the requisite strength and firmness and smoothness of surface.The surface of the slideway may be lubricated, if necessary. Similarqualities are necessary in the sliders.

The channels or grooves in which the switch-slides run, as well as theswitch-plate, should be composed of metal having qualities similar tothose stated.

Vheels of the ordinary type may be attached to the cars orlocomotive-trucks, and by well-known methods, which need not here bedescribed, the wheels can be so adjusted to the sliders, or the slidersso adjusted to the wheels, that the one or the other will carry the-car.I consider, however, that it is pref erable that the cars should becarried in the smooth slideways, and that the flanged top of the rail,against which the wheel comes in contact, should not be smooth, and thatthe function of the wheel should be rather that of a brake.

The form of the slider and of the slideway protected by its flanged topkeeps the cars upon the tracks.

()ne of the advantages of this invention is that the system of slidesand slideways can be introduced without materially changing the ordinarywheeled railway-cars. In fact, wheeled cars and sliding cars can be usedat the same time and form parts of the same train. These improved slidescan be applied to the forward bearing of a locomotive, leaving theordinary driving-wheels on the top surface of the track. Thus thedriving-wheels will have a bearing-surface against which there issufficient friction to enable the driving-wheels to take hold of thetrack, and at the same time all the other bearing-surfaces of thelocomotive and all the bearing-surfaces of the cars will be upon a verysmooth surface. It is believed that by this means facilities are offeredfor obtaining a high degree of speed accompanied with greater freedomfrom liability to accident.

In regard to the comforts of passengers the system of slideways andsliders introduces.

great improvements. The vibration is very much less, and this decreasedvibration also.

tends to make the wear and tear, especially upon bridges and elevatedstructures, much 7 less than is at present caused by the pounding of thewheels upon the rail in the rapid motion of the train. The noise and thejar and the wear andtear upon roadway and stock are all decreased,thereby increasing the comfort of the passenger and decreasing the costof maintenance.

The application of the improvements to the car-trucks heretoforedescribed can be readily made either by a new form of truck or they canbe adapted to the frame of an ordinary railroad-car truck by adoptingthe improvements made in the box or guard F. This box or guard is soarranged in relation to the block E that the latter can move up and downin the guard and thus furnish side and top bearings for springs whichare placed on the end of the bar, as more particularly described inanother application of even date herewith, numbered 382,156. Thisintroduces an improved method whereby the side motion of the vehicle isrelieved. The spring placed, as before described, above thesupporting-bar or its slide-block, in combination with the smoothgliding motion of the slides, affords still further protection from jar,whether caused by the up-and-down movement of the cars or the sidemotion in going around switches or unevenness of the track.

IIO

The brake hereinbefore described will serve to keep the movements of thecar entirely under control.

The placing of the sliders under the forward end of the locomotive willhold the engine more perfectly to the track, and will enable greaterspeed to be made with safety, especially when going around curves.

\Vhat I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. A rail adapted to be used in a railroadtrack containing a slidewayadapted to be lubricated or made smooth and a flange overhanging theslideway, substantially as described.

2. A rail adapted to be used in a railroadtrack switch containing oneach side thereof a slideway adapted to be lubricated or made smooth andtwo flanges, one overhanging each slideway, substantially as described.

3. A rail adapted to be used in a railroadtrack containing a slidewayadapted to be lu-- bricated or made smooth and a bearing-surface forwheels above the slideway and substantially in the same lineperpendicularly.

4. A rail adapted to be used in a railroadtrack containing a slidewayadapted to be lubricated or made smooth and having a comparatively roughbearing-surface for wheels above the slideway.

5. The combination of a railroad-track containing a slideway adapted tobe lubricated or made smooth, having a flange overhanging the slideway,with the railroad-car or locomotive-truck containing sliders providedwith a flange adapted to fit in between the slideway of the rail and theoverhanging flange thereof.

6. The combination of a railroad-track containing a slideway adapted tobe lubricated or made smooth, having a flange ovcrhangin the slideway,with a railroad-car or locomotive-truck containing sliders provided witha flange adapted to fit in between the slideway of the rail and theoverhanging flange thereof and being provided with a brake-bearingagainst the overhanging flange of the rail.

7. In combination with a system of slideways in railroad-tracks andsliders upon railroad-cars or locomotive-trucks, a brake adapted to bearupon the top surface of the rail.

8. A switch-rail adapted to be used in a railroad-track switchcontaining on each side thereof a slideway adapted to be lubricated ormade smooth and two flanges, one overhanging each slideway and pivotednear one end, with the other portions of the rail moving in curvedgrooves.

9. In a railroad-car or locomotive-truck adapted to be run upon aslideway, a brake adapted when in operation to bear against the topsurface of the rail, and a spring so adjusted as to lift the brake fromthe rail when power is not applied to the brake to press it against therail, substantially as described.

10. In a railroad-car or locomotive-truck adapted to turn upon aslideway, a supportingbar passing into or through the slide-post securedat its ends in guards or boxes, in which there is a certain amount ofupward and downward play, and springs interposed between said bar andthe bottom of the car, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have signed this specification in the presence oftwo subscribing witnesses.

ENOCH G. TOBEY.

Vitnesses:

R. A. PIPER, CHARLES H. SCHAEFER.

1 l l l l l It is hereby certified that in Letters Patent No. 454,306,granted June 16,1891, upon the application of Enoch G. Tobey, ofTarrytown, New York, for an improvement in Railroads and Vehicles for,Railroad Transportation, an error appears in the printed specificationrequiring the following correction, viz.: In line 66, page 3, the wordturn should read mm,- and that the Letters Patent should be read withthis correction therein that the same may conform to the record of thecase in the Patent Ofice.

Signed, countersigned, and sealed this 30th day of Jane, A. D. 1891.

[SEAL] GEO. CHANDLER,

' First Assistant Secretary of the Interior. Oountersigned:

G. E. MITCHELL,

Cmmnissz'oner of Patents.

